Loading apparatus for railroad flat cars

ABSTRACT

A railroad flat car provided with a support plate positioned thereon for arcuate movement, and a pair of side frame members to engage opposed sides of a container to lift the same. A pair of powered piston and cylinder means operatively carried by the support plate, engage and control lever means operatively connecting the side frames to the support for load lift and/or control. The lever means and load will rotate with the support plate.

United States Patent 1191 Goby Feb. 25, 1975 [54] LOADING APPARATUS FOR RAILROAD 3,030,074 4/1962 Lich 105/368 B 3,232,242 2/1966 Krueger 105/455 X FLAT CARS 3,416,684 12/1968 Barry 214/77 R [76] Inventor: Stephen Goby, 10308 flbu 3,543,956 12/1970 Furuno 214/010. 10 Cleveland, Ohio 44106 3,701,443 10/1972 Van Der Lely 214/77 R [22] Filed: Oct. 10, 1972 FORElGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 2 APPL 29 313 1,225,509 9/1966 Germany 214/77 R 1,885,412 lO/l963 Germany 214/77 R [52] U.S. Cl. 214/77 R, 105/368 B, 1051455158, Primary Examiner Albert Makay Int Cl Assistant Examiner.lero1d M. Forsberg 0 o 4 I a 5 e 5 1 4 5 I s 5 1 A t F h & I [58] Field of Search.... 214/75 R, 75 G, 75 H, 77 R, Old am am 214/77 P, 78, 80,518, DIG. 105/455,

105/368 B [57] ABSTRACT A railroad flat car provided with a support plate posi- [56] efe e ed tioned thereon for areuate movement, and a pair of UNITED STATES PATENTS side frame members to engage opposed sides of a con- 1,271,s12 7/1918 Wagner 105/368 B miner lift the Same- A P Powered-Piston and 1,543,214 6/1925 Luce 214/1510. 10 cylinder means Operatively Carried y the pp 1,870,906 8/1932 Gottschalk er a] 214/DlG 10 plate, engage and control lever means operatively con- 2,488,767 1 H1949 Drott et al. 214/DIG. l0 necting the side frames to the support for load lift and- 2,500,315 3/1950 Gerli et 214/D1G. 10 /or control. The lever means and load will rotate with 2,567,178 9/1951 Bird 214 77 R the Support plate 2,782,733 2/1957 Ewing 105/368 B 2,876,916 3/1959 Austrow et a1 214/77 R 4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 56 so l 1' 14 ,0 1 66 62 lo i i 5- 72 '5 e4 68 54 ll 17\ [I 68 52 r l. 171 Y ue 48 E 49 r;- 74 R R 2 I We? 5 3O 38 38 L940 42 26 22 42 38 Pmsmm 2.868.029

SHEET 1 or 3 FIG. 2

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PATENIEG FEB? 5 sl-iiuzufi g LOADING APPARATUS FOR RAILROAD FLAT CARS This invention relates to railroad or railway flat cars, and especially to improved load lifting and lowering means directly carried by a flat car, portions of lever means provided for load lift action protruding as booms or cantilevered members whereby load can be raised or lowered from beside the railroad car and be moved around on a rotatable support means for deposit onto the car, as desired.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Heretofore various types of load control means have been provided in association with railroad cars, and flat cars, and most of such load control means have comprised separate lift members provided in the railroad yards or at the railroad loading docks.

There also has been increased tendency at this time to transport loads carried on railroad flat cars and other transportation mediums in carrying containers.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide improved load control means permanently mounted on a railroad flat car and adapted for raising and lowering loads onto and from the flat car and pick up or deposit the loads from or on means spaced laterally from the flat car.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pivotally positioned support plate on a flat car with load lifting and control means whereby loads can be lifted by the load control means and be moved to or from the flat car in relation to laterally positioned load support means.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved combination of containers for loads and a railraod flat car and wherein the containers are provided with rollers on the bottom thereof for engaging carrier tracks provided on and extending the length of a railroad car.

Further objects of the invention are to provide lever means serving as extensions or booms in relation to a rotatable support plate provided on the flat car and wherein the lever means are adapted to control load engaging members and raise and lower the same by power means also carried on the pivotal support plate and powered in any conventional manner; to provide a relatively compact, sturdy means adapted for loading and unloading flat cars and depositing loads on means to the side of a flat car; and to provide relatively inexpensive load control means affixed to a flat car and operable from ground engaging positions to positions above the support level of load carrying rails on the flat car.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will be made more apparent as the specification proceeds.

Reference now is directed to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a railroad flat car having load control means of the invention operatively positioned thereon;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view like FIG. 1 but with several containers on the flat car and with a further container being unloaded or loaded in relation to the flat car;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged elevation partly in vertical section of a portion of the flat car of FIG. 1 and showing the load control apparatus of the invention, and transfer of load to a support;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan of the rotatable support plate and associated means; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section through the support plate provided in the railroad car and taken on line 55 of FIG. 4.

When referring to corresponding members shown in the drawings and referred to in the specification, corresponding numerals are used to facilitate comparison therebetween.

The details of the present invention relate to an improved combination indicated as a whole by the numeral 10, which combination of the invention includes a conventional railroad flat car 12 which has a load lift and/or control means indicated as a whole by the numeral 14 provided thereon. This railroad flat car 12 has been modified slightly to provide the present inventive structure. The car has a rotatable support plate 16 thereon and a support assembly 17 is carried thereby. The car 12 preferably has a pair of load support rails 18 extending axially the length thereof. These load support rails are adapted to align with sections of rails, indicated by the numeral 20, that are suitably secured to and carried by the support plate 16 on the upper surface thereof. This support plate 16 is shown intermediate the ends of the car 12 and the rail sections 20 align with the parallel rails fixedly secured to and carried by the adjacent portions of the railroad car.

The rotatable support plate 16 is operatively engaged with a support post or trunion 22 that is suitably fixedly secured to a portion of the frame or longitudinally extending center sill or beam 24 of the flat car. A horizontally positioned support plate 26 also is fixedly secured to the frame 24 or center sill of the railway car and extends laterally therefrom as shown in FIG. 3 to form a fixed bottom support for the plate 16 and the assembly thereon. Normally, an overhanging annular upper edge flange 28 is also secured to and is positioned above the plate 26 as by brackets 30 or similar means engaging and extending between such members. The support or revolve plate 16 operatively engages a tubular, vertically extending member 36 which is in rotatable engagement with the center post or trunion 22. Load on the support plate 16 is transferred to the fixed frame plate 26 as by a plurality of rollers 38 operatively journalled on a shaft 40 normally fixedly positioned on a radius extending from the center post 22. A carrier hub or bracket 42 for the shaft 40 is welded or otherwise secured to and extends downwardly from the support plate 16. A plurality of these assemblies of the rollers 38 and shafts 40 are provided at circumferentially spaced portions of the support plate 16 for equally distributing the load thereon down onto the frame plate 26. It will be noted that the radially outermost ones of the rollers 38a all are positioned underneath the overhanging flange 28 which extends around the periphery of the frame plate 26.

At a pair of laterally opposed marginal portions of the support plate 16, a pair of support channels or similar members 48 are suitably secured to the revolve plate 16, as by welding or the like, and these support channels, in turn, have a pair of parallel supports, such as l-beams 50 operatively secured thereto and extending therebetween. The channels 48 extend beyond the revolve plate 16 and have suitable flooring means Y thereon to form an upper revolve member 116. Spacer plates 49 are operatively secured to end portions of the channels 48 and extend therefrom laterally of the car vertically higher than the main car flooring Y. The lbeams 50 are suitably secured to and supported on the spacer plates 49, one adjacent and above each of two opposed lateral portions of the car, as shown in FIG. 4. A support plate means is formed by the revolve plate 16, upper revolve member, and means connected thereto. These l-beams 50 form part of or support frame means 51 that are provided for attaching the load lift and control means of the invention, as described hereinafter, to this support or revolve plate 16 and its associated upper revolve member 116. The support plate 16 normally can be moved in an arcuate direction manually so that any load supported thereon can be turned through an are, usually 90, whereby load can be discharged from the railroad car or be applied thereto, as desired, from a laterally spaced position with relation to the flat car. Two such frame means 51 are carried in parallel spaced relation on the channels 48 as shown in FIG. 4.

For load moving and control actions, a powered member, such as piston and cylinder means 52 is pivotally secured at one end to each of the frame means 51 to extend upwardly from an end thereof. These frame means 51 have upwardly extending sections 54 at corresponding ends thereof.

A sturdy load lift and transfer means is provided and it includes a lever 56 pivotally secured at one end to each one of the frames 51 and protruding therefrom in alignment therewith.

The actual load engaging means provided in the apparatus include a pair of side frames 58 and 60. Each of these elongated side frames include an upper bar 62 with a dependent center section 64 thereon and an upper arm 66 to which the end of one of the levers 56 is pivotally secured. Hooks 68 or other load engaging means are carried by the bars 62 for engaging opposed lateral portions of any container C to be lifted onto or removed from the railway car by the apparatus of the invention.

A piston rod 70 from the cylinder means pivotally engages each lever 56 adjacent its anchored end to provide load lift and control action.

In order to prevent any undesired imbalance from occurring on the loads or containers C being carried by the side frames 58 and 60, I provide an equalizer bar or means 72 in each lifting assembly. This equalizer bar or means 72 is pivotally secured to and extends between a lower portion of the end frame sections 54 and the dependent center arm 64 of the side frame so that these equalizer means 72 are parallel to the levers 56 to maintain the upper bars 62 of the side frames horizontal at all times for load lift or support action.

Normally the containers C which are carried by the railway car of the invention would have small rollers R provided thereon in properly spaced positions on the bottoms of the containers whereby such rollers would engage the tracks or rails 18 provided on the railway car. Hence, the containers can be deposited onto the rails and be moved to a remote end of the railway car from the load lift or control means 14. Likewise, such rollers can be used for facilitating movement of the containers when on any support surface.

Any suitable supply of pressure liquid can connect to 6 lines 74 connecting to the cylinder 52 to control the piston movement therein. A driven pump and liquid reservoir or the like can be carried by the railway car and be controlled in a conventional manner. The sup port 16 and associated means will readily move through an are by turning forces applied to levers 56, side frames 58 or 60, or to the frame means 51.

The frame means 51 are constructed and arranged to permit them and other means on the rotary plate to be swung through an are extending over the rails of the flat car. The channels 48 and spacers 49 provide operative clearance for the beams 50 re the fixed members on the car or suitable clearance is otherwise provided. Any

suitable flooring and supports therefor is provided on the car 12.

The invention hence provides a pair of lift means at opposed lateral portions of the car. The equilizer bars 72 and load support means, members 62, 66 and 64 keep the load stable. Hence, the objects of the invention have been achieved.

While one complete embodiment of the invention has been disclosed herein, it will be appreciated that modification of this particular embodiment of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a railroad flat car having a flat support surface defining a plane,

a support plate means positioned on the flat car for arcuate movement, said support plate means hav ing a surface coplanar with said car support surface,

complementary mating arcuate surfaces being provided between said support plate means and support surface to permit arcuate movement of said support plate means,

a pair of frame means on spaced portions of said support plate means,

a pair of side members for container load support,

lever means mounted on said frame means operatively connecting to said side members for raising and lowering said side members and any load en gaged thereby, whereby said side members are used to raise and lower a load to transfer the load between the support surface or the support plate means and an exterior surface,

a powered means connecting said lever means to said frame means for controlled movement of said lever means, an equalizer arm pivotally extending between and connecting said frame means to said side members, said equalizer arms being parallel to said lever means, a pair of lever means and equalizer arm units being provided, said equalizer arms and said lever means being pivotally connected to vertically aligned center portions of said side members to provide vertical load lift and support stabiliza tion action, and

said support plate means including an upper revolve section and a lower revolve section of less diameter than said upper revolve section, a roller bearing support means for said lower revolve section which is of smaller diameter than the width of the car, and

said frame means being positioned parallel to each other and extending longitudinally of the flat car beyond said upper revolve section.

2. A combination as in claim 1 where the said frame means are operatively secured to but are positioned vertically higher than said upper revolve section on opposed edge portions thereof in parallel relation to be movable in a plane above that of said flat car support surface, the laterally outer surfaces of said frame means being spaced a distance no greater than the width of the railway car.

3. A combination as in claim 1 including said flat car having a stationary support member thereon below said support plate means, and an overhanging annular flange means on said support member and including a portion operatively adjacent said roller bearing support means, that are carried by said lower revolve section, to prevent tilting of said lower revolve section by engaging said rollers to prevent upward movement thereof.

unloading the flat car. 

1. In combination with a railroad flat car having a flat support surface defining a plane, a support plate means positioned on the flat car for arcuate movement, said support plate means having a surface coplanar with said car support surface, complementary mating arcuate surfaces being provided between said support plate means and support surface to permit arcuate movement of said support plate means, a pair of frame means on spaced portions of said support plate means, a pair of side members for container load support, lever means mounted on said frame means operatively connecting to said side members for raising and lowering said side members and any load engaged thereby, whereby said side members are used to raise and lower a load to transfer the load between the support surface or the support plate means and an exterior surface, a powered means connecting said lever means to said frame means for controlled movement of said lever means, an equalizer arm pivotally extending between and connecting said frame means to said side members, said equalizer arms being parallel to said lever means, a pair of lever means and equalizer arm units being provided, said equalizer arms and said lever means being pivotally connected to vertically aligned center portions of said side members to provide vertical load lift and support stabilization action, and said support plate means including an upper revolve section and a lower revolve section of less diameter than said upper revolve section, a roller bearing support means for said lower revolve section which is of smaller diameter than the width of the car, and said frame means being positioned parallel to each other and extending longitudinally of the flat car beyond said upper revolve section.
 2. A combination as in claim 1 where the said frame means are operatively secured to but are positioned vertically higher than said upper revolve section on opposed edge portions thereof in parallel relation to be movable in a plane above that of said flat car support surface, the laterally outer surfaces of said frame means being spaced a distance no greater than the width of the railway car.
 3. A combination as in claim 1 including said flat car having a stationary support member thereon below said support plate means, and an overhanging annular flange means on said support member and including a portion operatively adjacent said roller bearing support means, that are carried by said lower revolve section, to prevent tilting of said lower revolve section by engaging said rollers to prevent upward movement thereof.
 4. A combination as in claim 1 where two elongated frame means are operatively secured to said support plate means on opposed edge portions thereof in parallel relation, a pair of said lever means are provided operative in parallel vertical planes and protruding from said frame means, said support plate means being movable to have said lever means protrude from a side of said car whereby said side members can be moved vertically to raise or lower a container for loading and unloading the flat car. 